Said before their game against the Jazz that "Tonight's game is like an acid test for us."
WHAT? Tonight's game is like a night filled with LSD, The Grateful Dead, and the Merry Pranksters?
Perhaps he meant litmus test?
Did the maximal strength workout today-- my shoulders are very sore from yesterday's interval workout. Tomorrow I think could be very tough by the afternoon.
Something I'm noticing while working on the one-handed push up progression is that a great stability challenge can be added to almost any ground-based upper-body work (planks, pushups, whatever) by adding a degree of leg movement or by bearing weight on a single leg. If you consistently alter the angle of the force to which your muscles are responding, you will work each muscle group more thoroughly without needing completely new exercises.
--
Workout Total:
40 Minute Maximal Strength Workout
15 Minute Core Workout
Wednesday, January 31
Spurs Head Coach Greg Popovich...
Tuesday, January 30
Sacred Hoops
Just finished reading Sacred Hoops by Phil Jackson. Very short read. Good concepts though.
Skipped an interval workout, as planned, so that I would have a day off after pickup. I really don't want to push myself in terms of forcing quick recovery in the offseason. Intense workouts, but more than ample rest is one of the offseason goals. The season's length combined with tournament formats will give me enough of that during the summer/fall. Training will replicate this as rarely as possible for a couple of reasons:
- It just isn't that good for you.
- I'm generally very strong in terms of endurance.
- It makes you tired in a grander sense than "I can't workout today." It stresses your life to train hard without adequate recovery. Stresses your defenses, your brain and your muscles. No need for that just yet.
Monday, January 29
ERP/PoNY Pickup
Played pickup in the freezing cold today. Went pretty well. I've been trying to focus my defensive awareness at the expense of almost everything else. Focusing on the angle to take if a given throw goes up and the positions I need to get to based on the moves the offense makes. The timing is very different with this group than with the Pike group. I find it very interesting and challenging to play in different styles.
The focus on defense is a great challenge for me as I've not thought much over the years about how to play defense. Reading the game that way is far different than reading the game as an offensive player. The advantages to challenging myself in this way will help me both on O and D in the long run, though it definitely caused some short-circuiting in my game on offense-- I was still busy thinking about D!
That's fine for now, but as the season progresses, I'll work on the shift from "Great D Mentality" to "Great O Mentality" on turnovers. The D thoughts did lead to a couple of situations where I did/should have gotten a D. One I played perfectly. I laid out for the D in the endzone, felt the cold impact of frozen plastic and then, as I realized that I hadn't caught the D. I then heard the shout of "Nice wasted effort, jackass!" from Dono as the well-impacted disc was sent directly into the arms of the player I was defending for a pretty easy goal. Tried to catch it, but I just couldn't. That sucked.
Saw some familiar NJ players (Dono, Reavey, Walt, Vlad) out there and the usual, though smaller, group of NY proper players. I doubt the NJ guys show regularly.
The game is slowly coming out of hibernation for Kaimana.
--
Workout Total:
2 hours Pickup
Sunday, January 28
The Departed
Well, I saw The Departed in the theater. Again. This may have been the third time with a completely different group of people. I really dig this movie. No other way to put it.
I found it more enjoyable than either the beautiful allegory Pan's Labyrinth or the beautifully crafted Children of Men. I'm not sure what those movies were trying to tell me at all. They were well-done and all, but what topic were they discussing? Am I just too dense to figure it out? Was there an actual point to either one? They were certainly both beautiful, in Spanish and looked at violence in an unflinching way, but what else was there? I'm just at a loss here.
Did an explosive workout after Jamie left. I love these workouts. They really push me.
--
Workout Total:
35 Minutes Explosive Strength
15 Minutes Core Work
Saturday, January 27
UCPC
No workout today.
Jamie and I went up to Boston for the aforementioned UCPC.
When we arrived, we parked in what was clearly the wrong parking lot and left Zac in the car to fend for himself in the cold. He wasn't coming in, he was just waiting for his brother to pick him up in a random HS parking lot in Newton, MA. Of course.
As we entered the building, we wandered around amazed by the modernity and size of the high school. Honestly, it was like a space cruiser. I went to a shitty run-down high school in PA which was preceded by an older and even more run-down middle school. We had band lessons in the goddamn boiler room. Then again, we were a very reputable music school. Maybe all classes should be in the boiler room.
This place, however, was shiny and huge. Great facility but very impersonal on both an architectural and personal level. Everything was separated by space and nether the exterior nor interior were of any great artifice. No joy conveyed in the craft therefore none to impart on the students. No warmth to the institutional setting therefore none conveyed to students.
As we got to the cafeteria, some familiar Metal faces were seen and some surprises from Texas and elsewhere. Nice to see them all, good to know that we weren't the only club players not presenting. The two best represented age-groups were definitely high school kids and coaches. Perhaps this is the draw of Tiina. Speaking of ARHS, NYU lost to them while I was a captain there. It wasn't surprising, really as they owned every matchup in terms of: Taller, faster, more athletic, better-skilled, better-prepared, less hungover, more focused and taller. Damn. That was embarrassing.
Anyway, the welcome presentation was too long (more than 5 words and is likely generally too long). We then got to the Keynote with Dr. Goldberg. That was pretty solid, though not particularly new. I did find that when listening, the reasons I don't get bad cases of the nerves became less obscured. Talk of focusing on what you can control versus what you can't was very familiar to me. Once I started thinking about sports instead of just playing them, I've had a knack for remaining calm and focused during the most intense moments. This is because of the way my mind tricks me into staying in the moment. All I'm thinking about when I'm playing is "What is the best way to react in this moment to everything I am aware of?" I generally try to beat my defender by reacting appropriately to what he does (and what my team is doing) as opposed to doing what I prefer. This takes a lot of focus and is my way of adapting Bruce Lee's quote from Enter the Dragon: "You can call it the art of fighting without fighting." It's the art of cutting without cutting. It isn't setting my man up that makes me dangerous, it is letting him set himself up and then attacking. Occasionally, I'll need to deviate from this course of action because a defender will have a good sense of anticipation or has matched up against me regularly. Then, all bets are off. I try to be the opposite of the sort of player he's used to me being. With all of that going on in my head, how can I have time to think about past failure or future success?
The next thing concerned observers in ultimate. This was okay. It basically explained what observers are in ultimate. Nothing new or groundbreaking. Not much discussion. But I do have some thoughts that came out of my own head on this one. The backing notion is taking the concept of "Best Perspective" and applying it to all of the players and observers on the field. In doing so, couldn't one determine who is in the best position to call each of the myriad of calls? Contact seems best observed by the players. Up/Down/In/Out should certainly be linesman. "Who caught the disc first?" seems like it would be observers and so forth. I think there could be something to this, but it will require premeditated thought. Not doing that now.
Then we went to Bryan Doo's fitness in ultimate thing. This was nothing groundbreaking either, if you play good club ultimate, but nonetheless, the presentation was excellent, and you can really tell that Bryan loves doing this sort of thing. He's got a contagious attitude. there were also some quick thoughts from him that are good to keep in the back of your head. No need to recap, really.
Parinella's Decision-Making bit was next. He spent a lot of time talking, no surprise there. Again, the content was good, but not shockingly original. If you haven't thought that regularly about your decisions, you should. If you have and have thought different things that what Jim went over, you either have a warped system or y'all should have a discussion to better the knowledge-base for ultimate.
Marking by Wiggins was the last presentation. Ben is a good, animated and knowledgeable presenter. I've not seen his mark be particularly powerful (Perhaps Jaeger was booked?), but he has always "done his homework" so to speak. The groundwork for team-level strategic decisions were the basis of his presentation, along with some marking techniques and thoughts.
I say that team-level strategic decisions were the core of the presentation because Ben would consistently take the different choices that a team could make on the mark and then talk about how they related to the defense played on the rest of the field. This is the only way to think about the game, really. Nothing exists in a vacuum. Not marking, throwing, cutting or anything. Nor do an individual's marking tactics. The effect that your strategic decisions have on the rest of your team (as well as the other team) is vital when choosing complimentary team-level strategies. A second "big idea" from this presentation is that defense in an elite club game must be unpredictable in order to create chances. Often, the other team will score no mater what you do. You need to gamble in order to create situations that are turnover prone. In doing so, you may offer up an easy score or two as sacrifice to the turnover gods.
Jamie and I then skipped out on the closing panel and film and started the drive home. A thought-provoking day, overall. Criticism: The presentations needed to be more conversational and less, well, presentation-like.
Friday, January 26
UCPC Eve
I have no idea what to expect from this thing tomorrow. Are Jamie and I going to be the only club players there? What level will the sessions be aimed at? What level will best benefit from the sessions? Are they the same? Can Wiggins actually mark?
Should be intrestesting at least from a people-watching point of view.
Got a maximal strength workout in. Core work too. Those one-leg lunges are awesome. Balance and strength all at once.
--
Workout Total:
35 Minute Maximal Strength Workout
10 Minute Core Workout
Thursday, January 25
Animation
Did a quick circuit workout this morning because I knew I would be at The Animation Show in the evening. The show was pretty good, but, as is its wont, was thoroughly weird. Just trust me. Or you can go see it or buy a copy of the dvd or something. Sometimes you'll laugh. Other times, your head will hurt. At yet other times, the two will converge. Finally, sometimes you'll be utterly disinterested.
Gotta see if we can cobble together an NYU team for Fools Fest this year. Maybe this will be the year that I don't have to sneak my way onto some team full of ringers (See: My title in 2005).
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Workout Total: 25 Minutes Circuit Training
Wednesday, January 24
Fucking Dodgeball?
Went to watch Julie play dodgeball today. That sucked. The games usually consisted of players standing around watching the other team stand around. It's goddamned dodgeball, the goal is to peg somebody!! How can you submit your application for admission into Valhalla in good faith after a performance like that?
A correlation to ultimate, of course, is that the goal is to score a goal. If you're not doing that with your current strategy, perhaps you need a new one. More likely you need to refocus your strategy to obscure your deficiencies while emphasizing your strengths. Just because "this is the way Awesome Team X does it" doesn't mean that the same method will work best for your motley crew. Each horizontal O is unique in the stresses it places on defenders and what it requires of offensive players in order to be effective. Watching Rhino is far different than watching Sockeye, for example.
What pressure situations can your players best exploit with their skills? When you take chances with your offense, what can you do to increase the margin of error? Throw 50/50 discs to better receivers? Rely on breaking the mark instead of throwing 50/50s? Go to the dump earlier? Establish the "release" at a different spot on the field than the standard dumps?
In essence, each offense is a framework that orders your options in terms of preference. Some of these rankings are variable, but other offenses very clearly state their value systems.
Workout Wise: Day of Rest!
Tuesday, January 23
Explode!
Had a great explosive workout today. Worked out some frustration from the basketball game last night. Really moved quickly through the circuits and stayed focused. Getting through the full-body plyo pushups was tougher than usual, but I will tentatively attribute that to fatigue caused by the improved pace of the workout all together.
The Jersey/NY contingent of our Kaimana team, Philthy, has enough to vote for the installation of a new governing body. We may move forward with this plan as the time nears with a headline-grabbing puppet leader in full Zaphod Beeblebrox mode backed, of course, by a shadowy cabal. It should be a bloodless coup, but one can never tell.
--
Workout Total:
30 Minutes Explosive Strength
15 Minutes Core Work
Monday, January 22
Basketball
First an illustration of what an alpha-dog is. Or you could look at the Bill Simmons article from before the trade. If you're an ESPN Insider. Whatever that crock of shit is. I want to pay by looking at shoddy advertising, not with REAL MONEY! If you don't fill those alpha-dog roles on the ultimate field, get over yourself and get humble.
Skipped the scheduled interval workout in favor of another painful trip to ball:
In any case, this game was horrible. The other team was taller and more skilled than us. As a result, our only chance was to get hot, which we never did. As most teams do, they sat back in a 2-3 zone and waited for us to make jumpers. I started every possession by splitting the two guards up top with a pass or a drive. Drive was followed by reading which big stepped to me and either passing to the open man who would promptly miss a jumper or taking a little teardrop (my specialty) and missing (not my specialty).
On the defensive end, I decided to pick up their PG as early as possible because he had no left hand. At all. I did what I could and forced a couple of turns, but we just didn't have the horses to capitalize in the running game.
The frustrating thing for me on the basketball court is that I no longer have the skills to force the other team to pay enough attention to me that I can get other players layups and open shots at their best spots on the floor. The impotence is very irritating. Then again, it is still fun to play.
This frustration led to me 1 vs 2-5 fast breaking down the floor for the last 10 minutes or so. I figured if my teammates were going to brick it all day, I could shoot just as well as them if I took it despite the number mismatch. We lost, but I still beat my whole team down the floor and often caught the opponent backpedaling or with their backs toward me. Some really easy buckets missed.
The interesting comparison to ultimate is that you cannot do this in ultimate unless you're the patron saint of callahans. You NEED your teammates. You can't throw a goal to yourself (except of the tip, rules freaks). you are forced to play a team game, even if you isolate a 2-man or 3-man game, you need your teammates. I can't think of another game that actually mandates passing in in order to score.
I think ultimate has affected me positively as an athlete and a person because of this. Even during that basketball game, I knew I was being an ass (thanks to ultimate), but I was doing it in hopes of improving the team in the long run. Present my alpha-dog status for review in order to establish authority going forward. it's a gamble, but if this league isn't the right place to test a gambit, I don't know what is.
--
Workout Total:
45 Minutes Cross-Training (Basketball)
Sunday, January 21
Still a Little Off
Well, I was a little sore from the massage yesterday, but in a completely good way. The muscles that really got a work over felt refreshed, yet challenged. Gotta get them thar toxins movin' I 'spose.
Did a shortened maximal strength workout this morning before heading out to watch football at the house of a Chicago fan. That was interesting. At least 3 people called the game in favor of Nawlins when the non-artists formerly known as the 'Aints got back within 2 or 3. Then the Bears did what they do and suddenly it was a blowout.
The second game of the day was a fantastic battle between Indy and Newngland. Peyton was still making the requisite "Manning Face" (as coined by Bill Simmons) throughout the game, but this time he played with nothing to lose. Why, you ask? Because Fate had gift-wrapped him an excuse-- A Slightly Hurt Hand. Suddenly, if he fails, it is because of the injury that was beyond his control. Suddenly, he is free of expectation. Suddenly.
Freedom from internal pressure can be granted by methods other than the intervention of Fate.
--
Workout Total:
30 Minute Maximal Strength Workout
10 Minute Core Workout
Saturday, January 20
Massage Works.
Had my first massage in a couple of months today. Boy, that 90 minutes is like a completely different world.
The woman I go to does an excellent job of locating the over-worked muscles and working to calm them down. My upper back seemed to be the most out of whack this time around, likely due to the pullups and pike presses which are very stressful at this point because I'm still learning the motions and strengthening the muscles at those angles.
I was pretty out of it after the massage, so I went home and slept. I felt more clear-headed afterward.
Nothing of real ultimate note here other than skipping an Interval workout today, but I'm sure that I benefited from that particular choice.
Friday, January 19
What is this Day of Rest Shit?
No workout at all today. Scheduled days of rest are nice.
Did do some thinking about the notion of a zone/man hybrid D. Something along the lines of a John Chaney matchup-zone. How would this look in ultimate? Something like a standard zone, but with less strict positional requirements. This would require much more field awareness as well as a defined method of teaching it. If done correctly, it could lead to putting defenders in anticipatory movement patters based on how a thrower would read their movements. Man from some perspectives, but zone from others. If you can see what the thrower sees through practice/awareness you'll be in position to make the block.
As a somewhat related aside, some friends who went to Worlds mentioned that the Buzz Bullets (When Pike played them at ECC in 05, they were throwing every throw in the book at us. Hammers and blades to away cuts, 40 yard scoobers and more) were playing a zone that transitioned into man at late stall counts. This is a great concept-- you give the offense one look and then switch with the idea of making the thrower think again when there is no time to think. I think this sort of hybrid look could well be the future of defense. Not that switching and having a last back is any different in terms of being a hybrid, but that the positions are less rigid and the change during a point is based on team-level movements instead of individual/pair level movements.
Thursday, January 18
Refs?
Skipped the explosive workout for today and went to play in my NY Urban Professionals League basketball game.
My team stinks. I might be the best player and I haven't played regularly since college (02). Back then I probably played an average of 4 hours a day. Sometimes as much as 8 hours. What a great escape from life-- just go play a game for hours in which everyone cares about the outcome yet one game flows fluidly into the next. Win, and you get to stay. Lose and you get to wait. Work consciously on your game for the whole time and you have your own month's worth of experience. It's like an AP course in Basketball.
This game was interesting. We were shooting pretty well for most of the game. We've got one bigger fella who is our best shooter, a fellow ultimate player who is probably the most-coached of us (good fundamentals), one athletic lanky lotsa-fouls-slasher-type with a weak jumper, and me. There are some other guys as well, but they're mostly liabilities in one way or the other. In this game, I took about 5 or 6 shots, passed well, had maybe 1 or 2 turnovers on miscommunications and spent a lot of time yelling at one of the refs. This guy was awful. He called carries after the ballhandler was fouled, watched 3-seconds like a hawk, missed calls near the basket, lost track of time, gave one of our players two technicals (not me, iIm still T-free) without ejecting him, didn't communicate clearly and lost track of the time. This guy was just plain bad. The other ref actually apologized to us for him.
So the game itself was a battle as the other team had one guy who had excellent stop-go moves, keeping us all off-balance. I got into a foul trouble covering him and no one else could stay near him. Not a shooter, but a quality player. Anyway, they tied it up and we missed the buzzer-beater from the corner to send the game to overtime. We got up in overtime, and then they came back to tie it near the end. I took this chance to drive the lane and get a quality shot. one of their bigs just laid me the hell out. I was laying on the ground looking up at the shot rim out when the opposing player apologized to me saying he didn't mean to foul me. No kidding. But then...
Silence.
No whistle. No foul. Everyone on the court knew that was a foul. I lit into this asshole ref, and that didn't seem to help. Double overtime. Sudden-death game to 3. (Weird rules) They bury a jumper or something and then one of our liabilities turns it over. Their good player gets fouled on a shot. Misses the first, makes the second, game over. Damn. That sucks. I'm over it pretty quickly (I care more about ultimate these days) but my team is pissed and still talking to the ref.
I've got some interesting ref/observer thoughts percolating as a result of this-- they'll come out soon enough.
In ultimate-related news, my brother and I decided to attend the Ultimate Coaches and Players Conference in Boston later this month. Nothing to lose, really. Presenters may be heckled.
--
Workout Total:
45 Minutes Cross-Training (Basketball)
Wednesday, January 17
Follow the Icing Trail!
Kwame Brown. What else can you say?
I think that if most of the athletes that play ultimate were paid to do so, there would be more arrests per capita than any major professional sport. Why do we get upset when these things happen? I'm not quite sure, but it always shocks me. These are children in many cases. Just out of college with their first real jobs. Their jobs keep them out late at night, they never get to settle down because they're traveling, and they have more money than they know what to do with.
Did an interval workout today. These are always tiring to a point of muscle exhaustion. Really fantastically draining in a total-body way. They never get easier because you can always do them faster. Great workouts.
--
Workout Total:
20 Minute Interval Workout
Tuesday, January 16
Appropriately Titled Exercise
The Pike Press! A maximal strength exercise on the way to handstand pushups. These are a way of strengthening the shoulders/back that I have neglected over prior training. The same with the pull-up. These are two rather weak planes of motion for me, though I'm not a complete chump in this department either. I'd love to work my way up to the explosive pull-up where you actually jump off of the bar, but that's a ways off methinks.
I'm already working the explosive pike-press which is pretty stressful. I dig it.
These maximal strength workouts are probably the hardest for me-- I don't really enjoy it, but I can feel the benefits.
I got an email today from a college coach I know asking about various trap cups. As a result gmail was trying to sell me bras. I love text-scavenging ads!
--
Workout Total:
45 Minute Maximal Strength Workout
15 Minute Core Workout
Monday, January 15
Two-a-Days!
Did a circuit workout before breakfast this morning, which was pretty intense, and then enjoyed being lazy and catching up on the highly watchable Battlestar Galactica. I then went to pickup with PoNY at ERP. I got some confounded looks as well as some warm greetings from former teammates and/or real-time friends.
It is a little awkward to be there, but I think I'm known as a pretty good guy overall. That is, I'm just looking for a quality game and I don't generally offend people.
The situation here is a little more awkward due to the loss of some NY players (Dono, Jude and "Vinny") back in 03 as well as the loss of some players in coming years (Chirlin, Baldwin and Bailey) to our geographically diverse Pike squad. I can understand the tension and I would welcome a conversation about it if someone wanted to discuss, but really it is pickup in the cold on Monday nights and I don't entirely suck. I work in the city and live in Jersey. makes sense to stay in NYC longer once a week than it does to commute to NY for practices. Funny thing is that the mass transit options (since I paid $175 to have my car stolen back in September) take about the same amount of time, despite the difference in distance.
In the words of Q-Tip, "Competition is good, it brings out the vital parts." I'll go to the best game that'll have me. And I'd welcome any of those guys to the NJ game that is slowly falling off.
--
Workout Total:
15 Minutes Circuit Training
2 hours pickup
Sunday, January 14
Down Goes Tomlinson
Rest day today.
After the pain of watching the Eagles lose last night, it was a welcome distraction to watch two games that I had no real personal interest in, other than I like watching Tomlinson run. Great Pats/Chargers game, entertaining, though not as high quality, Bears/SHawks game.
The way that Tomlinson moves on the field seems to say that he knows where all 21 other players are in relation to his own position and how they will react to what he does next. It is as though he has enough different ways to beat the first defender that he gets to choose the one that will negatively affect the other 10 defenders the most. Sometimes that means a juke in one direction, sometimes just an acceleration, sometimes he lets them get his hands on him, sometimes he takes the first hit to minimize the loss (the one thing that Barry Sanders never did), and so forth.
To apply this strategy to ultimate, it seems the best analogy is to the thrower. Your fakes, pivots, and prior decisions affect not only the marker, but how the downfield players cover their men. If you can hit an open man on the breakside with a variety of complimentary throws, then you can prey on the choices of the second (downfield) defender instead the first (marker) defender. If you extend this, you can create the second-assist in ultimate by reading not only that defender, but by seeing where the likely next pass will go and setting up your first receiver to hit the continue.
By increasing your functional options, you can increase the effect that your completions have on the second pass. You can set your teammates up for success (since you can't just run it in yourself) instead of just getting the disc out of your hands. This is a grossly underestimated skill by sportswriters, players at most levels, most fans and coaches who do not work understand the depth of the game.
Friday, January 12
Dalembert the Unaware
Poker Night got canceled for this evening, so I'll just get home and do an interval workout and watch some basketball. The workout was tiring. Good to keep the cardiovascular system working in the offseason.
I was conversing this evening with JP about Samuel Dalembert and his lack of knowledge about the game. The criticism is that he's only been playing ball for 10 years, and as such doesn't/can't understand the intricacies of the game. Well, shit, where does that leave me? I've only been playing Ultimate for 8.5 years and I'm older than Hatian Sam. What am I missing in field/game awareness? Compare this to my younger brother, Jamie who, despite being four years younger, has been playing for 8 years. Four years from now he'll be better than I was four years prior. Scary.
And it will only get worse.
--
Workout Total:
25 Minute Interval Workout
Thursday, January 11
I Hate Chris Webber
He's been killind the Sixers for far too long. Finally, we rid our team of the 6'10" power forward jump shooter. He was being interviewed on Inside the NBA and I now I hate him even more.
The interview made me want to set him and Billy King up in the same city for the rest of their lives. Possibly in the same house. I think I'd watch a TV show if they gave everyone the mailing address of the Webber/King household and they had to read all the fan mail aloud onscreen. Yup. I'd watch that. I'd also mail them a heart-shaped box of turds on every holiday.
Just before seeing said interview, I did a maximal strength workout. I'm starting to really gain some balance rewards for the one-legged squats in addition to the strength rewards. This is a great exercise.
We also got word that we'll definitely have at least 12 on the Kaimana Squad, Philthy. Quality team both on and off the field. This will kick ass.
--
Workout Total:
45 Minute Maximal Strength Workout
10 Minute Core Workout
Wednesday, January 10
Colbert vs Cramer
Did a circuit workout today. This was a pretty good ass-kicking. "Full Body Tired" is the way I think of it.
Also did work thinking about the principles of zone defense: Ideally, shouldn't a zone shift over the course of a point to alter what it takes away and what it lets go? That is, it shouldn't be necessary to drop into man or into a different variant of a zone to keep the offense out of a comfort zone. What it takes is a team that has worked on team-level anticipation *and* communicates clearly while playing. As one player (likely one in the first level behind the cup) notices where each handler is taking their primary looks, shouldn't he be able to call out adjustments on the fly? Shifting the wings in/out or changing the level of respect that the deep gives to deep cutters or giving the the middle of the cup more into freedom are all ways that can subtly change the zone without changing the basic set. Instead of running one type for a whole point, wouldn't it be possible to alter on the fly? This way, the offense never receives a static look to attack.
Perhaps that is just too advanced at this point, but I doubt it. If you want to be able to do something, put in the work and you'll be able to do it.
In a related story, Jim Cramer was on Colbert a little while ago. As usual, any interview in which space and time crash in upon themselves is a solid interview.
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Workout Total: 22 Minutes Circuit Training
Tuesday, January 9
You Human Paraquat!
I finally, after years of passing myself of as someone who got the joke, looked up the meaning of the word "paraquat."
I finally get it. Herbicide = weed killer! That's a fucking fantastic line.
(Rest Day)
Monday, January 8
Holy Fucking Tedd Ginn Jr!
Did an explosive strength workout as well as core work this evening right before the BCS title game. Workout was fantastic.
TGJ really cemented himself as the best player on the field by using the classic Costanza method of always going out on top. His team was DEAD without him. Must have been the MVP-- look at the plus/minus (to misappropriate a hockey stat)!
--
Workout Total:
40 Minutes Explosive Strength
10 Minutes Core Work
Sunday, January 7
Back on the Hoss
Got an interval workout in this morning and then went to watch some playoff football. Go Birds!
Some thoughts from football:
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Workout Total:
15 Minute Interval Workout
Saturday, January 6
The Mythical Two-Day Hangover
Well, I've managed to talk myself out of Pickup in Red hook today due to a two-day hangover.
I knew I should have stopped at the 13th scotch. I always thought this was a rumor perpetuated by scared parents or those who need excuses. I now have evidence to the contrary.
Friday, January 5
Lost Day the Second
Wow. What a way to start the year off. I'm 5 days into 2007 and I've missed 2 days already.
I got lost going home last night in the following completely familiar places:
I lost the following things last night:
I got home at ~4am and went to work at ~11am. It should have been more like 2am and 9am. Well, on to tomorrow!
Thursday, January 4
"My Swag Was Phenomenal"
This is a well-scheduled day of rest. My company has their holiday party tonight.
I don't want to do a workout and then get hammered. At least not around these folks. I need to properly gauge the situation before I imbibe enough scotch to sterilize my internal wounds.
"My Swag Was Phenomenal"
Wednesday, January 3
No Training? Satsuma!
No explosive strength today-- instead I spent the time traveling to 102nd street for a basketball game that was canceled.
Fucking A. Missed the workout and the game. Well, I think I'll buy myself a couple of Satsuma Mandarins (defined in 3-D wikiality here) and call it an evening.
Tuesday, January 2
The Second Start
Today's Interval Training was pretty solid.
I also put together the basic plan for "50 Days until Kaimana."
As mentioned earlier, the basic plan is a 5 day cycle of 4 types of exercise groupings and one rest day. I'll go through a sample cycle below, but first, the thoughts that went into exercise selection. This is a good time of year to do new exercises. Your body will struggle to adapt to them, resulting in extra soreness and stress. This is something you don't really want to add in to your regular season. To that end, I'll be including lots of "over-head" sorts of things like Pike Presses and Pullups. The most important workout every week is the explosive workout. I'll switch it around to other days if I feel like I'll be missing it on the scheduled day. Least important are the Interval workouts, and I'm playing Basketball and Ultimate every week to keep the cardiovascular system running. The Max-Strength workouts are valued int he middle with the circuit workouts.
There is a lot of work here on the shoulders and core. I also do core workouts at least 1 other time per week, usually 2 other times. You've got to be strong from the center out. I also do not want to injure my shoulders as so many ultimate players have. I got close in one Summer League game years ago, but I rebounded quickly and took preventative steps going forward.
You'll also notice I'm not running much (at all). This is due to the fact that I hate it and that I'm blessed in terms of endurance. I'll start slowly replacing "Jumping Rope" with some running in March or so, and then increase slowly the amount of running that I do as July approaches (Never anything over 400 meters). In the middle of July I'll start the track plan in earnest.
In terms of plyos, I've got basic explosive work set up here to keep the muscles ready for action. As May approaches, I'll start dusting off some more comprehensive lower-body plyo routines with clear-cut goals.
Here's the breakdown:
Day One:
Circuit Training
Go through a deck of cards doing pushups for the red cards and burpees for the black. Do the face value for 2-10, 10 for face cards and 15 for aces. This is very hard.
(This is just an example-- I vary them for each cycle)
Day Two:
Maximal Strength
Pullups x6
Hamstring Push x8
(45 Seconds Rest)
Divebombers x10
One Leg Squats x6 (each leg)
(45 Seconds Rest)
Pike Pushups x10
Calf Raises x12
(45 Seconds Rest)
One Hand Push Progressions x5 (each arm)
Directional Lunges x10
(45 Seconds Rest)
Repeat 3 or 4 times.
Core Workout (varies)
Day Three:
Interval Training
12 Burpees
24 Pushups
36 Squats
Jump rope for 90 Seconds
Repeat 4 times with no rest
(This just an example workout-- I vary them every cycle)
Day Four:
Explosive Strength Training
Depth Plyo Pushups for speed x8
Knee Tucks x12
(Rest 45 Seconds)
Plyo Pike Press for Height x8
Lunge Jumps x12
(Rest 45 Seconds)
Full Body Plyo Pushups x8
Squat Jumps x12
(Rest 45 Seconds)
Power Overs for speed x20
Ankle Hops x20
(Rest 45 Seconds)
Repeat 3-4 Times
Core Workout (varies)
Day Five:
Rest
--
15 Minute Interval Workout
Monday, January 1
Already off the Plan
Well, I'm not surprised, but January 1st has been entirely useless for ultimate anything. I ended up at no fewer than 4 parties last night, had to be carried home and narrowly managed to convince a police officer that I didn't, in fact, need to go to the hospital.
Of course, the evening wasn't without ultimate-- I ran into some former teammates, some rival players and some potential new teammates. Much talk was had, some of it was definitely of the trash persuasion.